Beaver Claims Class AA Baseball Gold With Victory Over Quaker Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 | 12:02 AM

For the second time in six years, the Beaver Bobcats are the toast of Class AA, winning WPIAL gold in a dominating performance against previously unbeaten Quaker Valley in a 7-1 win Tuesday at CONSOL Energy Field.. 

The Bobcats followed the calm demeanor and urging of head coach Bruce Herstine to “treat the championship game like just another game”.  It helped to get another dominating pitching performance from Radford recruit, Austin Ross.  Ross, who finished his WPIAL season/postseason with a 9-1 record, shut down a Quakers offense that came into the championship game having scored 173 runs in the 21 consecutive wins that they strung together in the regular season and playoffs.  Ross limited Quaker Valley to just three hits while striking out ten.  Ross struck out two hitters in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh innings en route to the championship victory.

After two innings of scoreless baseball, the Bobcats would break out against Quakers starter, senior Jake Pilewicz, by scoring five runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning.  Matt Rose got things rolling in the inning with a solid single back through the middle into centerfield.  The next hitter, Anthony Fidurski, attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt but Quakers 3B Tyler Garbee tried to throw out Rose at 2B but the throw was late.  Austin Logan then followed with an RBI single which scored Rose to give Beaver a 1-0 lead.  After a groundout which advanced the runners, Austin Ross helped himself by driving in Fidurski and Logan with a base-hit.  Nick Hineman then walked, and Ross’ courtesy runner, Evan McStay came around to score on a single by Jaylon Lawson to make the score 4-0.  Pilewicz would then walk Jordon Yates on four pitches to load the bases which prompted Quakers head coach Todd Goble to make a pitching change.  Sophomore Tyler Garbee would come on and induce Jon Hill to ground out to 3B but Hineman would score the fifth run of the inning on the play.

Quaker Valley would score their only run of the game in the next half inning.  Nelson Westwood would lead off with a single into rightfield.  Westwood stole 2B, advanced to 3B on a groundout by Jake Pilewicz and would come around to score on an RBI groundout off of the bat of Shane Emory.  Other than Westwood’s leadoff single in the 4th inning, only Emory and Jake Pilewicz would collect hits in the championship game for Quaker Valley.

Beaver would get a couple of insurance runs off of Garbee in the 5th inning.  Garbee lost some command of his pitches and walked both Hineman and Yates and with two out, Jon Hill drove both players in with a 2-out, 2-run double to extend the lead to 7-1.  That would be the final score.  With the victory, the Beaver Bobcats will face the District 9 champions in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.  By virtue of being the 2nd place team in District 7, the Quakers will advance to the PIAA playoffs as well and will face the District 10 champion.

Quaker Valley Quakers       0 0 0 1 0 0 0 = 1R | 3H | 2E | 3LOB
Beaver Bobcats                   0 0 5 0 2 0 X = 7R | 6H | 1E | 4LOB

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